SCARS
by SailorOfShips
Summary: [Sequel to I PROMISE] Chloe tries to help Beca transition back into civilian life. [WARNING: Mentions of PTSD] Inspired by Smokepelt26 and a few creative Guests DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING!
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

 _THWACK!_

 _Beca jerked in agony, grunting as the belt met her back once more. The skin over her lower back was beginning to tear and she was struggling to keep her eyes open. She wasn't sure how much more of this she could take._

 _"What's wrong?" The guard chuckled as he circled the soldier's dangling body. "You had so much to say earlier."_

 _TWACK!_

* * *

Chloe was woken by the sound of her wife's soft groaning. Lifting her head from Beca's chest, she soon discovered that the brunette was soaked with sweat. The redhead watched curiously as her wife began to squirm and struggle in her sleep. This wasn't the first time she had woken up to this. It had been happening on and off since Beca came home from Afghanistan. It wasn't until recently that the redhead noticed it happening more and more often.

Every night was the same.

Beca would have a mysterious bad dream that she'd refuse to talk about and shrug it off as "another stupid nightmare" that was "No big deal, seriously."

Chloe would only nod and plant a kiss to Beca's clammy cheek, knowing there was something she wasn't telling her.

Dark blue eyes snapped open, darting around the moonlit bedroom before eventually landing on sympathetic lighter ones.

Chloe watched patiently as realization flashed across the former soldier's face. She was home. She was safe.

"Baby, you're soaked…" Chloe cooed, taking in the brunette's clinging top and glistening skin.

"It's a little warm in here tonight," Beca shrugged, placing a hand to her chest to calm herself.

Chloe decided not to mention the fact that it was December and the temperature was below 40. She was careful to avoid the question she wanted to ask. She'd learned her lesson the first time she asked Beca about her nightmares. The smaller woman snapped in very un-Beca-like fashion. Chloe spent the greater half of the night watching as her wife fought an invisible force in her sleep.

"Can I get you anything?" She asked instead.

"I'm fine." Beca exhaled, settling back into the pillows as Chloe hovered over her.

"No medicine? Are you feeling ill?"

"NO, Chloe…"

"Do you at least want some water? You must be thirsty-"

"I said, I'm FINE. Can you just drop it?" Beca's voice had an edge to it, this time. Typically, this was the point where Chloe would shut up and lay back down, pretending not to notice her wife's racing heartbeat against her ear.

She thought she'd try her luck tonight.

"Beca," Chloe swallowed, ignoring the pang in her chest over the way Beca was speaking to her. "I wish you would talk to me…"

"There's nothing to talk about!" Beca's voice raised as she began to lose her patience. She just wished Chloe would leave it alone. "I just had a bad dream and right now all I want to do is go back to sleep, so can you shut up about it before I go sleep on the couch?"

Chloe only nodded, biting her lip as she felt her eyes sting. Beca's face softened, and for a second, Chloe thought she was going to give in, but she just shook her head and mumbled an apology.

"I don't mean to yell, babe. I'm just…really tired."

"I know," Chloe yielded, snuggling back up to her wife.

But Chloe wasn't convinced, not even in the slightest. She knew Beca and she knew there had to be something more going on. A small part of her believed that Beca knew it too.

* * *

 **The Next Day-**

 **BARDEN ELEMENTARY**

Chloe wandered through the pods of desks, watching as her students worked on their Christmas projects. As tired as she was, she couldn't help but smile at the children's excitement as the produced multiple variations of crayon, glitter, and paper Santa Clauses.

"Look, Mrs. Beale! I gave Santa a motorcycle!" One boy exclaimed, holding his paper high for her to see.

"I see," Chloe grinned at the indistinguishable red stick figure and bicycle. "Santa's going to be delivering presents in style this year."

"Mrs. Beale! Look at mine!"

"Mrs. Beale!"

"Ooh! Mrs. Beale! I drew Olaf!"

Chloe moved across the room to grab a broom and dustpan. "Hold on to those and bring them back tomorrow so we can finish, okay? We've only got a few minutes so we should probably start cleaning up."

The next few minutes were spent picking up broken crayons, sweeping glitter, and throwing away crumpled up bits of paper. By the time everyone had finished cleaning their areas and washing their hands, the bell rang, signaling the end of school.

Chloe made sure to move out of the doorway as all the children rushed for the door. The last thing she needed, was to get trampled this close to Christmas.

"Don't forget to get your permission slips signed and turned in by Thursday!" Chloe reminded her students with a smile as she waved them goodbye. "See you tomorrow!"

The art teacher's smile dropped the moment the last 6-yr old exited the classroom. With a sigh, she made her way over to her desk and plopped down into her chair. She ran a hand through ginger waves and let her eyes close as she enjoyed the luxuries of silence and FINALLY being off of her feet for the first time since 8am.

Between getting everything together for the kids' trip to Disney world, and everything with Beca, Chloe was exhausted.

"Long day?" A familiar voice brought Chloe out of her thoughts. She opened her eyes and turned towards the doorway. She wasn't surprised to find Aubrey watching with an understanding smile.

"Kind of," The redhead admitted. "It probably doesn't help that I haven't been getting much sleep lately, either."

Aubrey frowned, stepping into the classroom. "Why not?"

Chloe began to massage her temples as she had an internal debate over telling Aubrey about Beca's behavior lately.

As if she could read her friend's mind, the blonde pressed on. "Is it Beca?"

"How-?" Chloe's brows furrowed in confusion as she let her hands fall to her lap.

Aubrey closed the door and approached Chloe's desk, taking a seat on the corner as she smiled sympathetically. "Jesse told me she hasn't really been herself these past few weeks."

Chloe huffed. "I'll say..."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Taking a breath, Chloe reminded herself that she can trust Aubrey. There's no harm in telling her. She might even be able to offer some advice. "Beca's been having nightmares every night for the past two weeks or so... I feel like it might be the same nightmare, but she won't talk to me about it and she gets SO angry when I ask her about it."

"..."

"And sometimes she'll just, like, zone out...like she'll go to another world completely. I can't even recognize her in those moments."

Something crossed Aubrey's face and it worried Chloe. "What?"

"Nothing," Aubrey shook her head, reassuringly. "What else have you noticed?"

Chloe thought for a moment. "She's a bit jumpy. Every now and then I'll go to touch her and she'll jump away from me. It's been difficult trying to get her in a romantic mood. I never really know what to expect."

"Chloe..." Aubrey started, a knowing frown on her face. "I think she needs to talk to someone."

"That's what I've been trying to tell her, but she's so STUBBORN. You know how she can be." Chloe rolled her eyes affectionately.

"I'm sorry…" Aubrey closed the distance between the redhead and herself, bending slightly to pull her into an embrace. "Are you guys still trying for a baby?"

"You know, it's funny…for the longest, we've tried and just couldn't get pregnant. Now, it's finally working..."

Aubrey squealed, squeezing her friend excitedly. "Oh my God, Chloe! I'm so happy for you! I know you've been trying since last year."

Chloe pulled away, wiping her eyes quickly. Aubrey couldn't help but notice how somber Chloe seemed.

"What's wrong? I thought you'd be more excited about this." Aubrey frowned, watching as Chloe took a breath and lowered her gaze to the polished tiles.

"I haven't told Beca."


	2. Chapter 2

**SORRY ABOUT THE DELAY (FOR THOSE OF YOU STILL FOLLOWING). I'VE HAD SOME PC PROBLEMS BUT WE'RE BACK ON TRACK NOW.**

 **CHAPTER 2**

Chloe and Aubrey stood along the fence of the playground, watching as their students enjoyed recess. This was always their favorite part of the day. Allowing the children to burn off some energy made for a much easier second half of the school day.

After a moment, Chloe found herself smiling as she thought of her own growing child. She instinctively placed a hand over her belly.

What would he/she be like? Hyper like Chloe? Bashful like Beca?

"What are you thinking about?" Aubrey asked, noticing the smile and distant gaze on her friend's face. Aubrey had seen this expression on Chloe's face a few times. The first was when Chloe told her Beca proposed, and the second was when Chloe told Aubrey she and Beca were trying to get pregnant. Anyone could see the excitement in her bright eyes as she thought about the future.

Chloe turned to face Aubrey, eyes widening as she remembered where she was. "I had an appointment with Dr. Bryant, last Friday."

"Oh?" Aubrey perked up at this bit of information. "How did it go?"

"Really well, actually. She said everything seems to be developing nicely. Andddd…," Chloe began to dig through her handbag before pulling out two photographs and handing them to Aubrey. "She gave me these to keep."

"Oh, my God…" Aubrey gasped as she eyed the sonograms on the photographs, it finally started to sink in that her best friend was having a baby. There was a LIVING thing inside of her. It's such a beautiful concept. The blonde couldn't help but tear up a little as she pulled the redhead into a tight hug. "This is amazing."

"Isn't it?" Chloe smiled even wider as Aubrey released her. "In about 6 to 8 weeks, we'll be able to find out the gender."

Aubrey's smile dropped slightly as she began to feel a little guilty over how much Chloe was sharing with her and how little she was sharing with her wife. "Chlo, I'm so happy for you. I really am."

"But…?"

"This just sounds like something you should be sharing with Beca, you know?"

Chloe nodded, frowning slightly. She knew Aubrey had a point, but what was she supposed to do? Beca couldn't handle this right now. Chloe was just looking out for Beca. She would tell her…eventually.

Chloe opened her mouth to respond, but found herself interrupted as her purse began to vibrate. After a few seconds of digging, Chloe finally located her cell phone. She glimpsed at the screen, noticing it was Beca who was calling.

 _Speak of the devil_ , she thought, raising the phone to her ear.

"Hey," Chloe chirped, hoping she didn't sound as guilty as she felt.

"Hey, you," Beca chirped. Chloe noticed that she seemed to be in a good mood. "It's looking like I might finish up at the office early today. I was wondering if you'd want to go out for dinner… like if you don't have any papers to grade or lesson plans to work on, or anything."

"I'd love to go out with you." Chloe smiled at Beca's rambling. It reminded her a lot of the girl next door that she fell for. The younger, less confident, girl she used to sneak in her bedroom window for sleepovers. The girl that she TECHNICALLY never dated, but ended up marrying.

She heard Beca breathe a sigh of relief before continuing. "Awesome. What are you in the mood for tonight?"

"I don't know," Chloe's smile widened as she spoke. She could imagine Beca spinning around in her cubicle as she brainstormed. The brunette tended to put much more thought into things than people expected. Chloe couldn't believe people were actually buying Beca's "give-no-fucks" act, because it couldn't be further from the truth. Beca was a woman of logic and calculation. A perfectionist.

"Surprise me."

"Yes, ma'am," Beca responded, a playful edge to her voice. "Prepare to be wined and dined."

"Yes, ma'am." Chloe chuckled, mimicking Beca. "I'll see you then. Love you."

"Love you too."

Chloe ended the call with a grin, turning to face Aubrey. She wasn't surprised to find Aubrey eyeing her pointedly.

"Don't give me that look," Chloe rolled her eyes affectionately.

The blonde's only response was a shrug, then her eyes widened as she rushed towards the playground, spotting a kid with a handful of sand raised to his mouth.

"No, Ronnie! Don't eat that. We don't eat that!"

* * *

Later-

Chloe and Beca were seated across from each other in a booth at Applebee's. They'd occasionally point out something the other might like as they browsed the menu for something new.

"Ooh!" Beca exclaimed as her eyes landed on the seafood section. She peaked up over the menu to meet Chloe's gaze. "I see they've got some new salmon and shrimp platters."

Chloe's face lit up for just a moment before dropping. Beca noticed this and felt herself frown in confusion. That wasn't the reaction she'd been expecting. Chloe LOVED seafood…especially shrimp.

"I've been trying not to eat too much seafood lately." Chloe explained quickly. She'd seen the look on Beca's face.

"If you say so," Beca shrugged, deciding it was probably another one of Chloe's unnecessary diets. Although, Beca couldn't say she hadn't noticed that Chloe was looking "curvier" these days. She thought it looked good on her. Everything about the redhead seemed to shine a little brighter too.

Her hair… her eyes… her skin…

"What?" Chloe blushed, suddenly feeling self-conscious about the way Beca was eyeing her.

"Nothing," Beca smiled. "You just look good. REALLY good. Like there's something different about you."

Chloe chuckled, unsure how to respond.

"Maybe it's just been that long since we've gotten together to do something other than leftovers and Netflix." Beca teased, feeling slightly guilty. She'd been so caught up in herself and…WHATEVER it is that she's been going through with the nightmares and everything… She'd been neglecting her wife.

"I like leftovers and Netflix" The redhead's bottom lip jutted out playfully. "This is nice, though. I miss getting all dolled up to hang out with you."

"Me too. We should start doing this again."

"Totes," Chloe agreed, reaching across the table to brush her wife's hand, linking their fingers on top of the table.

The night continued on like this, with the couple eventually ordering their meals and moving on to topics like how their day was and how excited they are for the weekend. Everything was going so smoothly that Chloe began to wonder if she'd just been imagining all that stuff about Beca being jumpy and anxious.

Then, it happened…

 _CRASH!_

Somewhere in the kitchen, glasses could be heard shattering against the hard floor.

The change was almost instantaneous. The veteran's whole demeanor changed as she flinched.

Chloe watched worriedly as Beca progressed from fear to anxiety before bordering anger. There was that intensity in her eyes again. That unfamiliar intensity that usually only came after the nightmares.

Beca tightened her grip on Chloe's hand. She NEEDED to know what that sound was. WHERE it was? Were they in danger? She needed to protect Chloe.

Beca's eyes began to dart wildly across the restaurant as she made note of all the exits, her heart beat hammering against her ribcage as she loosened her grip on Chloe's hand. She was sure she had been squeezing the life out of Chloe's poor hand.

"Baby?" Chloe tested, running her free hand soothingly across her wife's knuckles.

Dark blue eyes slowly made their way back to light blue eyes, softening slightly.

"You're okay." Chloe continued. It wasn't a question this time.

"Uhhh…yeah," Beca exhaled, trying to slow her breathing and her pulse. She'd mistaken Chloe's statement for a question. "I'm just…looking for our waiter, so we can get the check."

Chloe nodded, only offering a reassuring smile as she continued to rub Beca's hand. She could tell the brunette was still on edge. She was really beginning to wonder if Beca actually was okay.

As she met Beca's gaze once more, she could tell Beca was wondering the same thing.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

 **TRIGGER WARNING: MENTIONS OF TORTURE. SKIP THE ITALICIZED SECTION.**

 _THWACK!_

 _Beca was awakened by a belt to the back. Her body jerked in surprise and agony as her eyes shot open. She could only bite her lip and clench her fists in her restraints as she refused to cry out in pain. She wouldn't give them that satisfaction, even if her skin was starting to tear and her vision was starting to blur._

 _THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!_

 _Jesse and Cap cringed with every smack of the belt across Beca's back._

 _The guard chuckled, his eyes crinkling in the slits of his head scarf. He always got the most pleasure out of whipping Beca. Her skin was so much lighter than the others and it made her bruises that much brighter. He practically ignored the others, only acknowledging them when they begged him to leave Beca alone. He'd raise the gun to their faces, laughing as their eyes widened and their mouths closed._

 _"_ _Not so tough now, are you?" The Afghan taunted, grabbing Beca's face roughly as he noticed her head drooping and her eyes drifting shut. With what little energy she had, the brunette met his gaze and took a deep breath before spraying his face with her saliva._

 _"_ _You can't break me…" She managed, a smug grin on her face as she watched the guard stumble back, wiping at the exposed skin of his face, shocked and enraged._

 _She was less amused to see him charging back towards her, his dark eyes flashing wildly as he raised the belt above his head, preparing to strike._

 _"_ _STOP!" A voice cried out. A familiar voice, but not one that Beca had heard while she was captured._

 _Beca glanced to her right, surprised to see Chloe hanging next to her instead of Cap. That couldn't be right. That wasn't how this went._

 _Was it?_

 _Dark blue eyes darted between Chloe and the guard as he moved closer, his eyes narrowed as they moved from Chloe and Beca. He could see Beca's resolve crumbling._

 _"_ _I can't break you?" He mocked, locking eyes with Beca as he raised the gun to Chloe's forehead. "I'm sure I can…"_

* * *

"NO!" Beca shot up, her eyes taking in all of her surroundings. It was dark. There was the soft whirr of air conditioning as opposed to gunfire, explosions, or footsteps approaching her as she hid. She realized she was in a bed. A bed she shared with Chloe. At home.

It must have been another nightmare.

Everything was okay.

She glanced to her left, just needing to see her wife sleeping peacefully beside her.

But the space was empty.

"Chlo?" Beca hopped out of bed and started towards their bathroom, stopping when she noticed the light was off. Chloe wasn't there. Beca moved across the room towards the door, beginning to feel uneasy.

"Chloe?" She called again when she heard no response. She swung the door open and started down the hallway, checking each room nervously.

She wasn't in the office…or the guest bedroom…or the living room…

Then, Beca heard the toilet flush in the guest bathroom and saw the redhead emerge from the doorway, one hand placed on her belly as she burped.

"Hey," Beca sighed, partly relieved and partly embarrassed for freaking out over nothing. "I was calling you."

"Yeah?" Chloe asked, smiling weakly. Beca noticed she looked a bit pale. She approached the redhead and placed a hand to her forehead.

"Yeah…why'd you come down here to use the bathroom? Are you feeling alright?"

Chloe swallowed, forcing a smile. It didn't quite reach her eyes though. "Oh, totes. I think…I might just have a little food poisoning."

It was a lie, and Chloe felt awful about it. Sure, she hadn't been completely honest with Beca but actively lying to her felt ten times worse. She COULD have just told Beca right there. She SHOULD have just told her. Maybe she still could…before this went on too long…

"I'm sorry, Chlo…we could sue, if you want? I'm sure Aubrey knows a guy. Aubrey ALWAYS knows a guy," Beca teased, smiling apologetically as she wrapped an arm around Chloe and led her back to the bedroom.

Chloe smiled more easily this time, shaking her head in amusement.

She'd missed her opportunity this time, but maybe it was for the best. Chloe decided that she would tell Beca soon. If Beca found her getting sick again in the middle of the night, Chloe would HAVE to tell her. There was no other explanation.

* * *

DING! DING!

Jesse raised his fists victoriously as the last ball swished through the net. "Yes! Buzzer beater!"

Sirens went off, signaling Jesse's victory and drawing the attention of all the other gamers in the arcade.

Beca and Jesse had been shooting hoops for the past hour or so and the games were close enough considering Jesse was a varsity shooting guard in high school and Beca was just a varsity hermit. Beca knew she sucked, but she'd never back down from a challenge.

"Who's the master?" Jesse taunted, flexing dramatically before bending to collect the tickets he won.

Beca rolled her eyes before sliding two more tokens into the slots. "I don't know. Why don't you call your mom and ask?" She jabbed the taller brunette on the shoulder, grinning at the way his jaw dropped.

"Easy there, Million Dollar Baby…You're going to injure my shooting arm!" He shoved the small woman lightly as he slid two more tokens into the machine. "Best two out of three?"

The two shot in silence, Jesse's shots mostly swishing through the net rhythmically as Beca's bounced off the backboard and side netting (somehow scoring albeit awkwardly).

"Hey, Jess?" Beca started, thankful to have the game as a buffer.

"What's up?" Jesse answered, not looking away from the ball as he lifted it above his head and released it in a seemingly perfect arch towards the basket.

SWISH!

"I was just wondering….uh…have you been having any, like, 'weird' dreams or anything?"

At this, Jesse paused, glancing at Beca before releasing his next shot. "Weird how?"

SWISH!

"Like…about Afghanistan?" She lowered her voice, remembering where they were. Maybe this wasn't the best place to ask, but she'd been wondering for a while.

Jesse stopped, turning to face Beca completely. He thought about it for a moment, remembering some of the vivid dreams he had when they first got back. They didn't last long though. "I had a few when we first got back, but not so much now. Why?"

"Just curious," Beca shrugged, lifting a ball over her head to fire at the basket.

CLUNK!

Another miss…

Jesse watched his friend closely, his eyes narrowing as he thought about all her behavior lately. He knew there had been something "off" lately and he didn't believe for one second that she was just curious. She was looking for help, but too proud to admit she actually needed it. Maybe she just needed a little push…

"Well…,"Jesse continued, knowing Beca wouldn't ask what she really wanted to ask. "I saw a psychiatrist for a while: Benjamin Applebaum. Dude changed my life in a matter of weeks. He said I was fortunate to only get the nightmares. Some people get the whole kit and caboodle… flashbacks, panic attacks, nightmares, dissociation…those people require a little more attention." Jesse finished, no longer just bragging about his psychiatrist.

Beca suddenly felt uncomfortable under Jesse's gaze. "Sounds like he was just trying to make you feel better about paying an arm and a leg to see him."

"Maybe," Jesse played along, realizing what Beca was doing. "Totally worth it, though. I'll write down his info for you in a bit. You never know. You could start having dreams like mine and then you'll NEED to talk to him."

That evening as the friends went their separate ways, Beca found herself thinking about what Jesse said. The paper with Dr. Applebaum's information scribbled on it seemed to be heavy in her pocket. She pulled into the driveway of her and Chloe's home, finally taking the time to pull the paper from her pocket.

 **SORRY ABOUT THAT CLIFFHANGER…**

 **I'LL MAKE IT UP TO YOU GUYS, SOON, WITH ALL OF THE UPDATES. TAKE CARE!**


	4. Chapter 4

**SORRY ABOUT THAT DELAY GUYS. I FINALLY GOT A BREAK THAT I ACTUALLY WANTED TO WRITE DURING, SO THIS HAPPENED. IDK WHEN THE NEXT UPDATE WILL COME, I'M SURE IT WILL BE SOMETIME WITHIN THE NEXT WEEK. BEST!**

 **Chap. 4**

ONE WEEK LATER **-**

Beca glanced at the address scribbled on the slip of paper in her hand one last time before exiting her truck and starting towards the building. She knew it was the right address, she just really wanted to believe it wasn't so she'd have an excuse to leave. She'd spent the last 15 minutes trying to talk herself out of this, but she knew it was for the best.

Never in her life had she expected to be in a place like this… All pastel colored walls and greetings from people who looked like their smiles were painted on. Beca knew it was all meant to make visitors feel more welcome but it seemed like a bit much.

The former soldier stepped further into the New Beginnings Rehabilitation Center and was greeted by an over-caffeinated older woman she assumed was the receptionist. The woman, who eventually introduced herself as Gail, led Beca down the hall to meet with the man who could potentially become her therapist.

"Dr, Applebaum!" Gail sang as she knocked on the office door. "Mrs. Mitchell is here to see you."

There was some rustling around in the office before the door opened, revealing a young man with a curly fro, sweater vest, and Bermuda shorts. Beca was slightly taken back by his appearance. He couldn't have been much older than her. If anything, he looked to be younger than her. Like the little brother of a college fraternity.

"Hey!" He chirped, stepping aside as Gail dismissed herself. Beca stepped into the office, scanning the room skeptically. "Come on in and make yourself comfortable."

"I'm sorry, but how old are you?"

"Uhhh…I'm, 26. Why do you ask?" His smile faltered ever-so-slightly.

"You just look more like you're about to sell me a boat than give me life advice."

Dr. Applebaum frowned in confusion. What was wrong with his clothes? Deciding it was better not to acknowledge the comment, the young psychiatrist moved across the room to plop down on one of his couches. He patted the cushion next to him, motioning for Beca to join him.

"Tell me about yourself," He spoke again, a smile returning to face.

Beca snorted, suddenly feeling defensive as she took a seat in the couch across from his. "You tell me about yourself."

Dr. Applebaum chuckled nervously, sensing hostility from the veteran. He hadn't been expecting that response. Usually his clients were more cooperative.

He proceeded with caution.

"Well, my name is Benjamin, but most people call me Benji. I studied undergrad at Clemson then went on to Vanderbuilt for grad school. I completed the expedited program for my doctorate, before coming back home to good ol' Georgia. I'm a big Star Wars fan and I love musicals. I also like tennis…"

Beca only blinked in response, seeming slightly amused. The corner of her mouth quirked as she observed him. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all. He didn't seem like any of the asshole shrinks on tv and in movies…

"Your turn!" Benji smiled even more brightly, hoping to get through the brunette's tough exterior. She had to be here for a reason. Even if she was being difficult, there had to be at least a small part of her that REALLY wanted his help.

When the veteran hesitated and began to fidget, Benji spoke again. "Take your time. This is a safe, judgement-free zone."

Beca's gaze fell to her fidgeting hands in her lap. She had to admit that Dr. Applebaum was kind of growing on her. He was endearing in the same way Jesse was when she first met him: like an adult human puppy.

Maybe she could do this. Taking a deep breath, Beca began to tell Dr. Applebaum about her nightmares. How frequent they were… How they weren't the same but were almost always in the same place with the same people… How they'd been getting worse these past few weeks.

The young man only nodded comfortingly, jotting down a few notes as she spoke.

"It's been making things difficult for me and my wife," Beca sighed, thinking back to her dinner date with Chloe.

"I can imagine," Benji smiled sympathetically. "Are these nightmares related to something that's already happened or are they related to something you're afraid might happen?"

Beca thought for a moment. "They're mostly related to something that's already happened."

"I see," Benji made another note on his legal pad. "May I ask what that was? Was it related to your time in the service?"

Beca met his gaze again, her eyes narrowing slightly. Why would he know about her enlistment? How much did he know?

"I apologize if that's too forward. I saw your name in the papers when your unit made it back from Afghanistan," Benji explained. "You've become a bit of a hometown hero. The kids look up to you…especially the little girls,"

Beca swallowed the lump forming in her throat. She didn't want to hear anything about Afghanistan, much less think and TALK about it. She suddenly didn't feel like talking.

Benji reached across the coffee table to touch Beca's hand, bringing her out of her thoughts. "Hey," He spoke more gently. "We're just going to do an assessment today, if that's alright. There's no pressure. I won't ask you to disclose anything you aren't ready to disclose, okay?"

Beca nodded, relaxing slightly.

* * *

"Thank you for bearing with me, through that," Benji checked off the last box on the screening form. He could have given her a diagnosis right there, but he wondered if it would be too much.

Beca eyed him expectantly. "What's the verdict?"

"It could take a few days for the results to come back, but it appears that you are showing a notable amount of symptoms seen in patients with Post-Traumatic Disorder."

"Sooo…what does that mean?" Beca prodded, her voice having a slight edge to it.

"Mrs. Mitchell," Benji spoke again, almost rambling as he attempted to calm the veteran. "This is totally normal, for individuals like yourself. A large percentage of veterans-"

Beca stood from her seat, laughing bitterly. "First of all, you seem super qualified, and all with these statistics, but I'm a person. NOT a number. Second of all, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but you need to give it to me straight, because right now you're just wasting my time."

The psychiatrist swallowed nervously. He could tell he had irritated the woman and he knew he had to make it right. He would want to know the truth if he were in her position.

"You're right," He agreed. "Post-traumatic stress disorder is very real and every case…PERSON," he corrected, "is different. But we're going to work together to make this much easier for you and your family-"

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder…

Beca stopped listening, falling back into her seat as it set in. There was an actual NAME for what she was experiencing. Now it was real.

"I can see you're taking this hard. That's understandable. However, I want you to know that there's good news…my father was in the Gulf War. When he came home, he experienced many of the same symptoms you're experiencing right now. With the combined effort of CBT, psychotherapy and SSRIs, his treatment took a little over 6 weeks. I have faith that we can do the same for you, but it'll have to be a team effort."

Beca nodded. None of this sounded cheap, and she and Chloe hadn't been doing so well with money lately. "How much is all this going to cost?"

Benji could see Beca doing the math. "Let's not stress about that right now. I'll crunch some numbers and speak with your insurance company to see if we can work something out. We've got your back here and we want to see you succeed."

* * *

LATER-

Beca walked into the front door of her and Chloe's home. She was proud of herself. She knew she'd made the right decision by going to see Dr. Applebaum.

When she walked into the living room, she was surprised to find Aubrey and Chloe on the couch sharing funny stories about their classes for that week. They stopped and smiled up at the brunette as she moved further into the room.

"Mitchell," The tall blonde greeted.

"Posen," Beca mimicked with a grin, leaning over the back of the couch to plant a kiss on the side of Chloe's head before whispering into her ear. Chloe blushed, praying her friend wasn't able to hear the things coming out of Beca's mouth.

"Welp," Aubrey hopped up, grabbing her things with a knowing grin. "That's my cue to leave. I know how you two get. Just give me two minutes to get out and then you can ravish each other like the horny teenagers you are."

"Ok, mom." Beca rolled her eyes, endearingly.

The minute the door closed, Beca took the redhead's face in her hands, kissing her deeply as she kicked off her shoes and climbed over the back of the couch. Chloe snickered at the smaller woman's clumsiness as she landed next to her with a thud.

"You know, you could have just walked around like a normal person," She teased, nipping at Beca's lower lip.

"When have we ever been normal?" Beca smirked, nudging Chloe's shoulder to lay her back against the armrest.

"Good point," Chloe smiled as Beca settled on top of her. It had been weeks since they did anything like this.

After a few moments, things began to heat up and Chloe found herself speaking before she could stop herself, "Not that I'm complaining, but what's this all about?"

"Can't a woman have sex with her wife on their furniture without having her motives questioned?"

Chloe snorted. She enjoyed moments like these. Moments when she got just a glimpse of the Beca she knew and loved. Her voice softened, "What's going on?"

"I made an investment, today."

"An…investment?" Chloe repeated, trying to keep her focus as Beca's lips moved to her pulse point.

"Yep," Beca smiled, nipping gently at the freckled skin.

"That's great baby," Chloe smiled as her eyes fluttered shut. She ran her hands through tangled chocolate waves, taking a moment to enjoy all of this while she could. "What kind of investment?"

Beca fumbled with the buttons of her wife's blouse as she continued her descent. Chloe's eye's shot open and she opened her mouth to protest, but before she could acknowledge the self-conscious voice in the back of her head, Beca ran her hands over the skin of her belly as if nothing had changed. Either she hadn't noticed the weight gain, or she just didn't care.

"It's a surprise." Beca stopped, meeting the redhead's gaze again. Chloe couldn't help but grin at her, finding her excitement contagious. She pecked her lips lightly.

She wasn't sure what was going on, but she had a feeling things were going to get better soon.


	5. Chapter 5

**HEY GUYS. I'M SORRY TO SAY I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT EITHER ABANDONING THIS OR JUST MAKING IT MUCH SHORTER THAN I ORIGINALLY PLANNED. HOLLER IF YOU'RE STILL FOLLOWING (OR EVEN IF YOU'D LIKE TO TAKE IT OVER ^^) CHAPTER 6 IS IN PROGRESS AND SHOULD BE UP SOON.  
**

 **HERE'S A FILLER. SUCH FLASHBACK, WOW.  
**

 **Chapter 5**

 _Chloe grabbed her laptop from the kitchen counter and joined her wife on the couch. Beca leaned forward, raising the remote from the coffee table to mute the television before turning her attention to the excited redhead beside her._

 _"_ _Find anything?" Beca threw an arm around Chloe as she opened the laptop and logged in. On the surface, Beca appeared calm, but Chloe knew better._

 _"_ _I thought it'd be more fun if we looked together." Chloe grinned, knowing Beca was just as excited as she was. They'd been "shopping" for a donor for the past few days and had no luck. They hoped that would change tonight._

 _After scrolling through the photographs, finding one thing or another that was a deal-breaker, they reached the perfect candidate._

 _"_ _Oh my God," Chloe gasped, her eyes darting between the photo on her laptop screen and the woman beside her. The man on her screen beared an uncanny resemblance to her wife…the steely-blue eyes…the wavy brown hair…the small angular nose and chin…_

 _"_ _Do you have a brother I don't know about?" Chloe joked, nudging Beca._

 _"_ _Who knows? With a dad like mine, I could have a brother that I don't even know about," Beca snorted. "Think he's our guy?"_

 _"_ _He's perfect." Chloe sighed, already imagining the possibilities. She snuggled further into Beca's side. "I really want our baby to look like both of us. Not just me."_

 _Beca smiled, watching Chloe's eyes light up. "Alright then. Let's do this."_

* * *

 _Three Months Later-_

 _Beca and Chloe sat in Dr. Bryant's office, hoping to find some answers. Chloe had been following all the doctor's instructions. She'd received all of her treatments. She'd been eating well and taking her vitamins…but still there was no sign of pregnancy._

 _What was going on?_

 _The older woman, smiled sympathetically as she returned to her office with the results of their most recent test. She took a seat next to the reclined treatment pad. Chloe sat up anxiously, grabbing hold of Beca's hand._

 _"_ _What's the news?" Beca asked, not wanting to drag this out any longer. There was a sinking feeling in her gut. She knew what it meant._

 _"_ _Ladies…I'm really sorry."Dr. Bryant shook her head sadly._

 _Chloe shook her head in denial, feeling her eyes blur with tears. "I don't understand… I've done everything I was supposed to-"_

 _Beca exhaled, blinking away the tears as she wrapped her arms around Chloe. She needed to be strong right now. Chloe was barely holding it together. If Beca broke down, she knew it would only make things harder for Chloe._

 _Dr. Bryant continued, "There's no explanation for this. I've been in this clinic for years, and I still don't have an explanation. It just takes some couples a little…longer to conceive. I know you're feeling discouraged, but I don't want you to lose hope just yet."_

 _Beca only nodded, a single tear rolling down her cheek as she held Chloe closer. At this point, she wasn't listening. She had already accepted it. Maybe she and Chloe just weren't supposed to have kids. Sure it took some couples longer, but not THIS much longer, right?_

 _Beca was never the type to believe in "fate" and "destiny" or whatever, but what else was there to believe? There had to be an explanation. She tried twice… Chloe tried twice… Surely, if they were meant to have a child, they would have one by now…_

 _It was better if they just accepted it and moved on._

* * *

 _Two Months Later-_

 _Chloe sat on the toilet watching the stopwatch on her phone. Every decision she'd made over the past two months led up to this moment. Had they been the right decisions?_

 _Beca seemed to have lost hope and gave up on having a baby, but Chloe was determined. After their last attempt, Chloe hadn't been able to ignore the little voice telling her to try one last time. She couldn't eat. She could barely sleep. Being an elementary school teacher wasn't helping much either. If anything, it made her want a child that much more. Seeing the little people run to their parents excitedly at the end of the day… Seeing them reach different milestones and learn important lessons…_

 _Chloe wanted that. SO badly._

 _She wanted all of it and she wanted it with Beca._

 _When it got to be too much, Chloe decided to meet with Dr. Bryant again. She wanted to tell Beca and share this with her, but she couldn't bring herself to put Beca through all this again. What if she failed again and it was all for nothing? She would have gotten both their hopes up, only to be disappointed again. She couldn't do that to Beca…_

 _The stopwatch beeped after the third minute passed, and Chloe took a breath before grabbing the test from the counter…_

 _Two red lines!_

 _With a gasp, Chloe shot up and ran to the bedroom, swinging the door open. She stopped when she saw Beca tossing and turning in bed. She seemed to be having the same nightmare she'd been having since she came back from Afghanistan._

 _Chloe assumed it was because the deployment was still relatively "fresh" in Beca's mind. She decided to wait a little while to see if the nightmares stopped. Then, she'd tell Beca._

 _Days turned into weeks and the nightmares hadn't stopped. They only got worse. It was then that Chloe realized this particular deployment would always be "fresh" in Beca's mind, but now it was too late. Her window of opportunity had passed and the line between "waiting" and "hiding" seemed nonexistent._

* * *

Chloe was the first to wake, as usual. Rolling over, the first thing Chloe noticed was that she and Beca were in bed, meaning they must have moved from the living room to the bedroom somehow in the midst of last night's festivities.

The second thing she noticed was how bright the room was. It was morning. That meant she and Beca slept through the whole night.

No panicking.

No nightmares.

No vomiting.

She smiled, stretching out those delicious aches from last night. She was sore in the best possible way. She felt satisfied… and even more importantly, she felt close to Beca. She felt close in a way that she hadn't felt in a while.

Last night had been amazing. It was like they'd hopped into a time machine and turned the dial back a few years. Back to when they were young and just enjoying the little love bubble they lived in. Before everything got so complicated.

Chloe propped up on her elbow to watch the woman beside her, snoring faintly as she slept on her stomach, chocolate waves spilled this way and that way over her face, popping up slightly with each exhale…

Who knew? All she had to do to help her wife overcome her nightmares was wear her out…

Chloe chuckled at the thought, knowing it wasn't that simple.

She moved closer to the veteran, pulling the covers down enough to reveal Beca's bare back. Reaching a hand out, the redhead ran her fingertips over the small back, taking time to admire it for all of its beauty. The skin of certain areas was raised and discolored, but only slightly. It was a symbol of Beca's journey.

Slowly but surely, Beca was healing.


	6. Chapter 6

**IT HAS COME TO MY ATTENTION THAT PEOPLE ARE STILL READING AND FOLLOWING THIS, SO I'VE DECIDED THAT I'M NOT GOING TO ABANDON IT. I AM GOING TO TRY TO WRAP IT UP IN MAYBE 4 OR 5 MORE CHAPTERS THOUGH.**

 **THANKS FOR BEARING WITH ME AWESOME ANONYMOUS ACA-LOVERS.**

 **Chapter 6**

Two Weeks Later-

Beca was seated in a recliner, eyes shut as she allowed Dr. Applebaum to guide her through the exercise. Today would be the first time they'd actually discuss what happened in Afghanistan. Beca had been coming to see Dr. Applebaum regularly and he felt that she was making good progress in her sessions and she had been taking her SSRIs as instructed, so he wanted to try something different today.

"Alright, Beca," Dr. Applebaum started. His was voice quiet and gentle as he watched from his seat, pen and pad in hand. "I want you to describe for me, what you see…"

"A small room with brick walls and dirt floors… men and women all around w-with their faces covered…"

Benji nodded scribbling notes onto his pad. "Can you tell me about these people? Who are they?"

"Angry civilians…," Beca swallowed, flinching at the memory. This didn't go unnoticed by Benji.

"What are these angry civilians doing?" He prompted, watching the veteran closely.

Beca hesitated. She was beginning to struggle, Dr. Applebaum could tell.

He watched patiently, deciding to make a note of Beca's discomfort when asked about the civilians. "It's okay…we can revisit that later. What else do you see?"

"I see two other soldiers… Cap and Jesse… W-we're hanging from the ceiling by our wrists," Beca squeezed her eyes shut, grimacing at an unknown memory.

Benji jotted a note another. He'd make sure to ask about that next time. He didn't want to ask to much of her the first time they did this exercise.

"I think that's good for today."

Beca opened her eyes, taking a few calming breaths as she listened to Dr. Applebaum. "Now, before we meet again, I want you to try another exercise for me. I'm pleased with your progress and I can tell you've been keeping up with your other exercises…the breathing, stretching, vocalizing…all of it's working, and I'm sure this will help also."

Sitting up, Beca gave the therapist her undivided attention. She wasn't particularly excited to add any more "exercises" to her list, as the ones Benji had previously given her were starting to take a toll on her. She was mentally and emotionally exhausted.

And she had never been one to do homework.

But she was willing to do anything to get better. Not only for her, but for Chloe…for her family and friends…her coworkers…

She had to give her all and put her trust in Benjamin Applebaum.

"Okay," Beca agreed.

"Are you familiar with 'Lucid Dreaming'?" Benji asked.

"Not really. What is it?"

"It's when someone becomes aware of his or her dreaming state and takes control of the dream as a, sort of narrator, instead of just a spectator."

Beca stared blankly at the man across the room.

Sensing Beca's confusion, he continued. "I'm sure you've had dreams in the past when something SO weird happened that you just knew you had to be dreaming. Then, realizing that, you were able to change the course of the dream."

Thinking back, Beca could remember having a few trippy dreams like that when she was younger. "I have."

"Great!" Benji smiled, realizing this might be easier than he expected. "I hope that we can eventually get to that point…but until then, I want you to keep a journal. Anytime you wake up, whether you remember your dream or not, I want you to write how you feel and what's on your mind. If you CAN remember your dream, I want you to write that as well. If you are still tired and it's still relatively early, I want you to concentrate on your feelings and thoughts as you wrote them, then allow yourself to fall back asleep with all of that in mind. You will now be aware and you will have an easier time navigating with the knowledge that the threats are only part of a dream and aren't real."

"Ahh…that actually sounds kind of cool. It's like that Inception movie my wife begged me to go see with her." Beca grinned, but then she thought back over the first part of the exercise. "About the journal…am I going to have to, like…show it to you?"

Dr. Applebaum shook his head, "Nope! That's for you. I want you to be comfortable addressing these memories on your own before I ask you to go further with it in here. I DO want to push you, but only when you are comfortable, and I can sense that you aren't yet comfortable talking about some things."

"That makes sense," Beca smiled, appreciative of the young man's patience. She was excited to get back to work, then to get home and try the new exercise.

"…annnnnddd, that's all the time we have for today, Beca." Benji stood walking Beca towards the door. "Keep up the good work, though! I can't wait to hear about your progress on Friday."

* * *

"Hey, man. I didn't even hear you get back from break. How'd it go?"

Beca looked up from the computer monitor on her desk to see her best friend stepping into her office. The former soldier shut the door behind him, taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of Beca's desk.

"Hey, Jess. It went well. He wants me to try keeping a Dream Journal, or something to keep up with the nightmares."

"I tried doing that once. I'm sure it would have helped if I'd remembered to actually WRITE in the journal when I woke up," Jesse laughed.

"I imagine that WOULD have made it more effective," Beca grinned.

Jesse's face fell as he remembered why he actually came in there. "Chloe came by today. She said she had a planning period and she wanted to surprise you with a lunch date. It seemed like there was something she wanted to tell you also."

Beca frowned, hating that she missed that. She would have really liked to have a lunch date today. And she could imagine the excitement dying on Chloe's face once she found out Beca wasn't there. "Why didn't she call me?"

"I'm sure she did. I called a few times too, but it went straight to voicemail, so I assume that your battery is dead, as usual."

"Damn…" Beca mumbled, leaning down to open one of the side drawers on her desk. Jesse watched in amusement as the brunette fumbled around before finding a phone charger. She kicked the drawer closed and rolled to the nearest wall socket, whipping her phone out to plug it up. "Did you tell her-"

"What kind of bro would I be if I told her something that you hadn't told her yet? I just said you had to run off for an unexpected meeting and I wasn't sure when you'd be back…not COMPLETELY untrue."

Beca breathed a sigh of relief, watching as her phone came to life. She would let it get some juice before calling. It's not that she was hiding it. She just wanted Chloe to hear it from her.

"Thanks, man. I owe you one." She smiled, turning her attention back towards Jesse

Jesse stood with a proud grin, swatting nonchalantly as he started towards the door to let himself out. "I'll put it your tab."

* * *

Chloe was seated at her desk as she watched the children work on their popsicle stick houses. She fiddled with her cell phone as she debated whether or not she should call Beca again. She knew Jesse said she had to run off for a meeting, but the way he said it left her wondering…

It was like he knew something that she didn't know, and she couldn't help but worry.

Maybe it really was nothing though. If it was important, Beca would tell her. Beca shared everything with her…or almost everything. In all the years that Chloe had known Beca, there was only one thing she wouldn't talk to her about: her last deployment.

With that thought, Chloe was flooded with guilt.

She stood to make her rounds, not wanting to think about that heavy stuff while she was at work. Chloe made her way through the tables, observing the different types of castles she saw. Some colored…some uncolored…some glittery…some held together with excessive amounts of glue… (clean-up was definitely going to be fun today)

Just as Chloe made her way back towards the front of the room, she heard her cell phone vibrating against her desk. She rushed back towards the desk to answer it, catching it on the third ring.

"Hey," She heard her wife's voice as she raised the phone to her face. "I know you can't talk long, but I just wanted to call and apologize. I feel like a real dick for missing you earlier. It was sweet that you came by and I hate that I wasn't here."

Chloe smiled, leaning against the desk to keep an eye on the kids as she listened. She knew this voice. This was Beca's patented 'Chloe, I know you're mad at me, right now' voice. It was the softest, smallest voice and it always brought a smile to Chloe's face, because she knew it was just for her.

"If it counts for anything…I would have really enjoyed it." Beca added, and Chloe could hear the sad smile in her voice.

"I know," Chloe relented, swooning slightly. "Maybe we can try it again some other time."

She heard Beca breathe a sigh of relief.

"I wasn't actually mad, you know? I was more concerned than anything. Your phone was off and no one seemed to know where you were."

"I know, and I'm really sorry. I'm going to do better with keeping my phone charged," Beca joked, adding, "Also…I want to talk to you about the meeting I had, tonight. It's nothing bad. I promise. It's actually really exciting stuff and I can't wait to tell you about it."

"Well, I can't wait to hear about it. There's actually something I want to talk to you about too- OH! goodness. I have to go babe, love you…MARSHALL, NO! Sally had that first!"

Beca snorted, hearing two kids crying as Chloe reprimanded a boy for trying to steal something from a little girl. She always liked hearing 'Mama Chloe' whenever she fussed about something. She could imagine her wife's raised eyebrow and hand-on-the-hip stance and she found it highly amusing. It also saddened her a little because it made her think about the kind of mother Chloe would be.

She would make a wonderful mother.

"Love you too." Beca hung up, not wanting to let herself get lost in those kinds of thoughts while she was at work. She set her cellphone down and turned back to her computer to respond to a ticket about an error in the company's security system.


	7. Chapter 7

**ANOTHER FLUFFY FILLER BEFORE SHIT HITS THE FAN. CHAPTER EIGHT IS IN PROGRESS AND SHOULD GO UP SOMETIME THIS WEEKEND.**

 **Chapter 7**

It was late when Beca made it home from work. Her team ended up being short on staff, so she got roped into staying a few more hours to help out. Beca actually didn't mind. She was paid by the hour and knew she and Chloe could use the money right now. She just hoped they would still get a chance to talk before retiring for the night.

Beca shut the front door behind her and started for the kitchen, noticing the light was still on. When she saw the room was empty, she set her keys down on the counter and continued on to the living room, following the sound of the television.

Beca smiled once she discovered her wife on the couch, barely awake and eating some leftover lasagna she practically begged Beca's mother to bring over earlier in the week. Anne Mitchell didn't cook often, but when she did it was glorious and Chloe always made sure to tell her. So, when Chloe got a craving for some of Anne's lasagna and called her up, she was happy to oblige (though she found it a little odd that her daughter-in-law had a craving for that particular meal, especially at 2'o clock in the morning…but who was she to deny the number one fan of her cooking?)

"You're still up," Beca spoke, relieved as she stepped further into the living room.

Chloe nodded, her eyes half closed and her mouth half full as she turned to smile at the brunette. After finishing her mouthful, Chloe spoke, "You said you wanted to talk…and I didn't get a chance to see you today. I guess I MIGHT have missed you a little." She teased, pausing the television. She seemed to be watching Parks and Recreation again. The girl really did love her "Netflix and leftovers".

Beca smiled even brighter as she registered what Chloe meant. She waited up for Beca.

Beca moved towards the couch, lifting Chloe's outstretched legs long enough for her to take a seat. Chloe adjusted her feet in Beca's lap, getting comfortable as she waited for Beca to tell her the good news.

"So," Beca started, her excitement evident. "I invested in a therapist. I started seeing a guy about my anxiety and the dreams I've been having. I've been going on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for the past two weeks and I really think it's helping. I'm finally starting to feel like myself again."

Chloe's eyebrows raised as she found herself smiling. She hadn't been expecting that, but she could definitely see the change once she thought about it. She could feel the change too. The air had been much lighter in the Mitchell-Beale household.

"I've been following Dr. Applebaum's advice and he hasn't failed me yet, so I'm going to start a sleep journal tonight, like he suggested. He says it should help with expressing some of the things I haven't been comfortable talking about."

Chloe nodded, understanding the reasoning. If she was being completely honest, Chloe would say it stung a little. Chloe would say she remembered a time when SHE was Beca's sleep journal… but the redhead was just glad Beca was getting better. She smiled supportively, leaning across the couch to plant a kiss on her wife's lips. "I'm proud of you." She whispered with a lazy smile, turning to curl into Beca's side.

"Thanks, Chlo," Beca blushed slightly, forgetting just how important that was to her until she heard it. Making Chloe proud was always one of the most important things to Beca. The two of them sat for a moment, just enjoying each other's presence and the comfort of the silence. Beca rested her head against the back of the couch, feeling her eyes start to droop. Then she remembered the end of her phone call with Chloe earlier.

"Wasn't there something else you wanted to talk about?" Beca asked, waiting for Chloe to start. When there was no response she tilted her head to get a better look at her wife's face. Her eyes were closed and she looked content.

The corner of Beca's mouth quirked as she realized Chloe had fallen asleep.

She must have had a long day. Teaching arts and crafts to 5 classes of 20 kids…standing up for almost all of it…fighting sleep for 4 hours after she'd gotten home just to see Beca…

Beca leaned down to kiss a freckled temple before maneuvering to scoop her wife up in her arms. Beca eventually made it down the hall to their bedroom, with much more effort than usual…Beca assumed it was the cost of not working out as regularly as she did when she was enlisted. She decided she would get back on that this weekend.

Beca carefully removed Chloe's sweatshirt and sweatpants before tucking her in, knowing she liked to sleep in her undergarments. Beca would never forget this.

She chuckled as she thought back to how torturous sleepovers used to be before she knew how Chloe felt about her.

Absolutely. Torturous.

Beca shook her head in amusement as she started towards the bathroom to get washed up for bed.

* * *

When Chloe woke up that night, she noticed she was in bed. She frowned, realizing that must have meant she'd passed out on the couch again. She was really hoping to tell Beca about the baby, but now she'd have to wait until tomorrow… Rolling over to face Beca, Chloe saw that Beca was sitting up and writing something into her notebook.

It must have been the sleep journal she was talking about earlier.

Noticing Chloe was awake, Beca quickly scribbled the rest of her thought and closed the notebook before tossing it onto the nightstand. Beca turned towards Chloe. "Hey, sleepy head…"

"Hey, you," Chloe smiled sleepily. "What were you writing?"

Beca sighed, "You know I can't tell you that, now."

Chloe's face fell and Beca rushed to soften the blow. "But I will soon…just give me some time, okay?"

Chloe nodded, throwing an arm across Beca's body as she cut off the lamp and slid back under the covers.

"Let's get some sleep," Beca smiled, scooting closer to the redhead.


	8. Chapter 8

**SO I DECIDED NOT TO MAKE THIS AS AWFUL AS I ORIGINALLY PLANNED, BECAUSE EVERYONE LOVES A GOOD BHLOE. CHAPTER 9 IS IN PROGRESS AND SHOULD BE UP SOON.**

 **Chapter 8**

LATER THAT WEEK-

Chloe and Aubrey were out for a much needed "Girls' Day" and decided to hit up some stores to search for maternity clothes. Chloe had been starting to show a little more and now most of her pants weren't fitting her waist anymore.

Aubrey agreed that it was a travesty and an emergency trip to the Mall was in order. Chloe immediately went for the shopping carts as she stepped into TJ MAXX. As much as she enjoyed shopping with Aubrey, she knew the blonde loved to make it an all-day affair. Chloe knew she might as well get comfortable. She leaned onto the shopping cart as they moved through the aisles looking at the various clothing items.

Eventually, they made it back to the maternity rack and Chloe rolled up one side of the maternity rack as Aubrey came up the other, stopping across from her.

"What about these? They look pretty normal." Aubrey grinned, holding up a pair of elastic band khakis for Chloe to see.

If it wasn't for the dangling tie-strings, Chloe would think they were actual pants. She smiled and nodded, impressed that they actually found something she could work with. Most of the clothes they'd seen in the other stores either looked like bed sheets or they just SCREAMED "pregnant".

Chloe shot up from the cart, eyes flashing excitedly as she remembered something. "I've got another appointment with Dr. Bryant coming up next week."

"Already?" Aubrey asked. It seemed like just yesterday that Chloe informed her she was pregnant.

Chloe nodded, excited but also a little terrified. She wanted to cherish every moment of her pregnancy, but it seemed to be flying by. "If all goes well, we should be able to find out the sex." She smiled at the thought, her eyes scanning the rack before landing on a cute flannel shirt. She could work with that too. She picked it up and tossed it into the cart.

"So…I'm assuming the fact that we're shopping for maternity clothes and the fact that you're about to find out the sex of the baby means you've told Beca?" Aubrey asked pointedly. Her eyes flicked up to meet Chloe's before falling back to a pair of jeans she removed from the rack to get a closer look.

"Well, actually…no," Chloe admitted, sheepishly. "But, I've made up my mind that I'm telling her tonight. For the past few days, I have been ACTIVELY trying to tell her, but someone would call… or one of us would fall asleep early… it's been frustrating. I've made up my mind though. Nothing is going to stop me tonight."

"Good to know," Aubrey smiled, pleased with her friend's determination. With another look at the jeans, she returned them to the rack, finding some weird fading at the bottom. "Believe it or not…I actually consider her a friend too. I feel awful for keeping all of this from her, especially after seeing how broken up she was when..."

Chloe nodded, not needing Aubrey to finish the thought. She remembered it too. She never realized just how much Beca wanted children until she saw her break down in the doctor's office after her second failed attempt…

With that memory, Chloe was even more determined.

* * *

When Chloe stepped into their home that night, she was surprised to find Beca setting the dining room table. She was wearing an apron and her hair was pulled up into that messy bun Chloe loved so much. She smiled fondly, admiring her wife as she moved between the kitchen and the dining room, appearing with more and more dishes of food to set on the table.

She was covered with a thin layer of sweat from standing over the stove and the apron was lightly dusted with flour and spices. It also helped that she was wearing one of her loose tanktops, providing Chloe with a nice tease of cleavage and side boob.

Chloe shook her head to clear the inappropriate thoughts that followed. These pregnancy hormones were making her worse than a dog in heat.

Looking more closely at the brunette, Chloe could see tears forming in steely-blue eyes. "What's going on?"

"We're going to talk," Beca explained, not unkindly. However, Chloe did notice that her voice seemed a bit…fragile.

"Beca-,"

"We're going to talk when we finish, but right now I want to make sure you and the-," Beca took a breath to compose herself as she wiped her hands on the apron. "Right now I just want to make sure you're fed." She finished, smiling diplomatically.

Chloe panicked as she noticed Beca's correction. What was she going to say the first time? Did she know? How long had she known?

Chloe was brought out of her thoughts by the feeling of Beca's hand on her back, leading her to the table. Beca pulled the chair out for the her, then began to stir the Chicken Penne in the pot, spooning the pasta onto her and Chloe's plates.

"Thank you," Chloe smiled through her nerves

Beca nodded stiffly.

The two dug into their meals, eating in silence for a few moments until Beca spoke.

"How was your day?" She asked, setting her fork down onto the empty plate before reaching across the table to grab a dinner roll from the basket.

Chloe hesitated, noticing the sharpness of her wife's movements.

She knew…

She had to.

"It was…okay. I walked around the mall with Aubrey."

"Oh? How'd THAT go? Did you get anything?"

Chloe finished her mouthful, raising a hand to cover her mouth as she spoke. "Just a few pants and some shirts. How was your day?" Chloe asked, desperate to change the subject.

"We'll talk about that soon. It certainly was… 'interesting', though. I'll say that," Beca finished her roll, then chugged the last of her water.

"Okay," Chloe took a breath, bracing for what was to come. "What's going on?"

"A lot, actually…" Beca started, her steely-blue eyes glossy as she watched Chloe. "I decided to take a nap earlier, you know…since I'm lazy and that's how I spend my days off. Then something pretty cool happened. Not only did I NOT have another nightmare, I actually had a GOOD dream. I dreamed that we were sitting on a bench. We were at a playground and there were kids running all around us…climbing…chasing…playing in the sand... At first, I didn't know what was happening. Then, two little ones came running towards us. A boy and a girl. They had your eyes. They had your smile…your everything. And I realized they were ours…. Well, when I woke up, I knew I had to write it down. This was progress."

Beca paused. Chloe felt her stomach drop. She knew where this was going.

"For some reason, I couldn't find my journal. It wasn't where I left it. I pretty much turned this house inside out looking for it, but I just couldn't find it... until I decided to check the drawer of YOUR nightstand and there it was."

Chloe swallowed. There was no denying that she took it. She skimmed through it when Beca went out for a jog. She meant to put it back, but the time seemed to fly and before she knew it, Beca was opening the door to the bedroom in all her post-workout glory. Chloe didn't have time to put it back. She was on her side of the bed. Going to Beca's side would make it obvious. She just threw it into her drawer before Beca got a chance to register her surroundings.

"Baby," Chloe started, her lip trembling slightly. She knew she was wrong. She should have waited like Beca asked. "I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have invaded your privacy, but I just had to know…you NEVER told me what happened in Afghanistan. You just came home and you were like…a SHELL of yourself."

"Because NOTHING good happened over there!" Beca's voice raised and Chloe flinched. "That's ALL you need to know now, Chloe. I would have eventually filled you in. I just needed you to be patient. That's all I asked. I didn't say never. I said LATER."

"I know…and I'm sorry,," Chloe sighed. "I just miss how things used to be with us. We shared EVERYTHING with each other. We didn't have secrets."

"Really, Chlo? You're going to say that now? This isn't even really about the journal…this is about the pictures I saw under the journal."

…OH.

Chloe felt the blood drain out of her cheeks. Now she remembered. She remembered switching purses and tossing the pictures into the drawer for safe-keeping.

"Whose ultrasounds were those?" Beca asked, obviously knowing the answer.

"Beca…I was going to tell you…"

Beca shook her head in disbelief, wiping at the single tear that escaped. "Were you? It looks like you were trying to hide it."

"For a while, yes…I was trying to hide it," Chloe explained, standing from her seat and moving around the table to get to Beca. She took Beca's hands, panicking when she felt them tense. She feared Beca would pull away, but she didn't. Chloe breathed easier with this realization. She knew that wouldn't have been a good sign.

"I know now that I wasn't hiding my pregnancy for the reasons I thought I was hiding it. Part of me was hiding it because I wanted to protect you, but part of me was really hiding it because I was scared."

Beca frowned in confusion, her heart breaking slightly as she heard the crack in Chloe's voice.

"Why were you scared?" Beca asked, her voice softer this time. "I'm right here. I've always been right here."

"Physically, yes." Chloe argued. "But, for a while…you were just so… distant and …INTENSE. There were nights that I'd hear you crying in your sleep and I worried that you'd snap if I asked about it. You seemed unhappy and I worried that you changed your mind. That being with me and starting a family wasn't what you wanted anymore…that you'd leave if you found out."

Beca nodded, knowing Chloe had a point. There were so many emotions and so many questions, but what Beca felt the most in this moment was guilt. She couldn't pin this all on Chloe. Even Beca knew she wasn't completely herself before she started therapy. She was angry, anxious, and depressed. ALL THE TIME. It made Chloe uncomfortable. It made her feel like she was walking on eggshells… Like she had to keep something like this to herself…

After a while, Beca slid her hands free from Chloe's, reaching up to wipe away the redhead's tears. "I'm sorry I made you feel like you had to deal with this alone... but now you don't have to." Beca closed her eyes as she felt Chloe's arms wrap around her, pulling her into a hug.

"I know," Chloe smiled, sniffling away the tears as she just enjoyed the embrace.

"We're a team. You're Sonic and I'm Tails," Beca joked, wrapping her arms around Chloe as she planted a kiss to the top of her head. "No more secrets."

"No more secrets," Chloe agreed.


	9. Chapter 9

**BEFORE I START THIS, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY HAMMO59 IS A MIND TWIN. YOUR REVIEW PRACTICALLY SUMMARIZED THIS CHAPTER ^^**

 **I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE BECAUSE I AM NOT VERY WELL EDUCATED ON THE MECHANICS/TERMINOLOGY/LOGISTICS OF BABY-MAKING AND ULTRASOUND IMAGING (I'M SURE IT WILL SHOW ^^). IF ANYTHING IS SO INACCURATE TO THE POINT THAT IT BECOMES OFFENSIVE, LET ME KNOW SO I CAN FIX IT.**

 **ANYWHOO, HERE'S CHAPTER 9. WE'RE IN THE FINAL STRETCH, GUYS. LOOK FOR ONE MORE CHAPTER AFTER THIS!**

 **Chapter 9**

Chloe had taken the day off and felt a little bad about having Beca do the same, but she was just glad Beca was with her. Something about having the brunette by her side always made things seem a lot less frightening. With Beca's hand in hers, Chloe felt like she was ready for anything that might come her way.

"You ready for this?" Beca asked once as they exited Chloe's car and started across the parking lot towards the clinic.

Chloe nodded, her crystal eyes sparkling with excitement as she fell in step beside her wife. "Are you?"

"As ready as I'm going to be," Beca chuckled, bumping the redhead's shoulder lightly as she slid her fingers between Chloe's.

Chloe and Beca walked into the clinic hand in hand, making their way towards the reception desk to sign in. The receptionist informed them that Dr. Bryant was running a little behind schedule today and would come out to get them shortly.

The couple made their way to the waiting room and took a seat in the middle row of chairs, deciding it was the best place to sit to avoid getting in the middle of some kids' re-enactment of the Indy 500. Chloe giggled as the two boys raced each other around the chairs. After a while, Beca started counting the laps. Once they reached 20, Beca's eyebrows shot up. They made no signs of stopping and Beca wondered how many laps they'd done before she and Chloe got there.

"Jesus... Mama over there is breeding a track team-," She muttered, stopping when she felt an elbow in her side. Chloe shushed her, trying her best to keep a straight face.

The mother in question was seated two rows back, watching tiredly as she tried to soothe the fussy infant in her arms. She hadn't even attempted to change for appointment. Her hair was tied in a scarf and her polka dotted pants were obviously pants that she'd slept in.

"Mitchell-Beale…!" The receptionist called, getting the couple's attention as Dr. Bryant appeared from a side door. The older woman smiled as she glanced between Beca and Chloe. She seemed to be pleasantly surprised by Beca's presence.

Leading the couple back to her examination room, Dr. Bryant apologized for the wait, explaining that one of her previous patients had an "accident" and she spent the past 10 minutes disinfecting the room to be safe. Beca eyed the room wearily with this knowledge.

"It's fine," The doctor assured the couple, with a grin as she adjusted her glasses and rolled one of her equipment cabinets closer to the examination bench. "I might have actually overdone it."

Chloe nodded, smiling as she climbed up onto the examination bench and raised her shirt. Beca watched curiously, taking a seat in the chair next to the bench. Chloe turned her head to face the brunette, wiggling her eyebrows playfully. Beca snickered, reaching up to lace her fingers through her wife's.

Once Dr. Bryant had everything set up, she turned to face the young couple, smiling as she watched the brunette kiss her wife's knuckles and the blush it brought to her face.

"Alright, ladies! Here we go," The older woman smiled, taking a seat as she pulled on a pair of latex gloves and squeezed some gel into the palm of her hand. Beca watched in amazement as Dr. Bryant applied the gel to Chloe's exposed belly. Chloe squirmed, scrunching her face at the feeling of the cool air hitting her gelled skin.

Dr. Bryant rolled back to the processing unit to press a few buttons and grab something that Beca likened to a fancy microphone. Beca stood to get a better look as the doctor rolled her chair back to Chloe's side and ran the receiver over Chloe's belly.

There was muffled audio as an image appeared on the projector screen near the head of the examination bench. Once the audio cleared, Beca realized it was the baby's pulse.

"As you can tell, your baby's got a nice strong heart," Dr. Bryant joked, standing to point at the screen with her free hand. Her hand moved to a thick grey area, "…so here we've got the sac…" her hand moved further down the screen, stopping at a dark area, "…amnionic fluid…," then finally making it down to the fetus, "…and last, but not least, here's our little person, sleeping in mommy's belly hammock."

Chloe gasped, seeing how much the image had changed between her first appointment and this one. The baby's limbs were more defined and parts of the face were distinguishable, like the ears, nose, and mouth.

"Look at that little belly," Chloe giggled, launching into a conversation with Dr. Bryant as the doctor proceeded to point out the baby's developed parts, saying everything looked like it was developing right on track.

Chloe squeezed Beca's hand excitedly, as she turned to meet her gaze again. "You hear that, baby?"

Beca only nodded, unable to speak. She saw the baby adjust in the image and felt the wind rush out of her lungs as it finally set in. She and Chloe were going to have a baby.

After trying for almost a year…they were FINALLY going to have a baby.

"Ahhh…," Dr. Bryant chuckled, noticing something in the image that Chloe and Beca hadn't.

"What is it?" Beca asked, finally regaining control of her mouth.

"Would you ladies like to know the sex of your baby?"

"Oh! Yes!"

"Please!"

Dr. Bryant smiled at the couple's enthusiasm. "It's a boy!"

"Yes!" Beca pumped her fist in victory, toning down her excitement at the sight of Chloe's quirked eyebrow. "I mean…obviously, I would have been happy with a little girl."

Chloe rolled her eyes affectionately, knowing Beca secretly wanted a boy. Chloe could tell, because they'd been tossing names around noncommittally all week, but Beca kept throwing out unisex names, and earlier in the week, she joked that she wouldn't let Chloe talk her into painting the guest bedroom hot pink when they converted it into a nursery.

* * *

THREE MONTHS LATER-

 _"_ _Ooooooooooooh!_

 _Sugarpie honeybunch…_

 _You know that I love you._

 _I can't help myself._

 _I love you and nobody else…"_

"Hey!" Chloe swatted Beca's shoulder playfully, giggling as steely blue eyes peered over her swollen belly.

Beca peppered Chloe's belly with kisses before moving her Chloe's body to kiss her softly on the lips. "You know I love you too." Beca teased, moving to lay beside the redhead as she placed a hand on top of her belly.

"I know," Chloe smiled, resting her head against Beca's as she played with the hand on her stomach.

"Do you have to do this every night?" Grinned, feigning annoyance.

"Yes, I do." The brunette drummed her fingers against her wife's stomach. "I have to make sure the little man knows my voice."

With that, Beca's hand bounced as Chloe's stomach jerked suddenly.

"Did you feel that?" Chloe gasped, lifting her head and raising her shirt to get a better look at her stomach.

"What was that?" Beca asked, eyes widened in shock. She'd been singing to Chloe's belly almost every night and that had never happened. Was that supposed to happen?

Chloe shook her head, laughing incredulously. "I…I think that was a kick."

"A kick?" Beca repeated, sitting up excitedly.

"Yeah. He's probably trying to get comfortable in there," Chloe explained in a tiny voice. "Little fella's growing so fast, he's probably running out of room."

Beca smirked. Chloe was already picking up her mother's habits. Beca could remember hearing a similar voice from Mrs. Beale when she was younger.

"Speaking of growth," Chloe segued, turning to get something out of the night stand. "Something came in the mail, todayyyy."

Beca took the padded envelope, shooting a glance at Chloe when she noticed it was already open.

"I couldn't resist," Chloe blushed.

Beca chuckled, reaching into the envelope. Her fingers bumped against something that felt like a picture frame and she pulled it out, tossing the envelope aside.

Chloe watched, beaming as Beca's eyes scanned the words printed on the plaque. It was a certificate of completion from Dr. Applebaum.

 _Congratulations! Best Wishes to you and your "New Beginning"!_ It read, along with Dr. Applebaum's signature and the date of her last appointment.

Beca smiled, meeting Chloe's gaze.

She was ready for her New Beginning.


	10. Chapter 10

**HERE WE GO GUYS. A LITTLE FINAL CHAPTER AND EPILOGUE ROLLED INTO ONE. THANK YOU FOR STICKING WITH THIS EVEN THOUGH I GOT LAZY HALFWAY THROUGH AND ALMOST ABANDONED SHIP (NOT LITERALLY THOUGH. I WILL GO DOWN WITH THIS BECHLOE SHIP.).**

 **Chapter 10**

TWO MONTHS LATER-

Chloe was much further along in the pregnancy now. Her back was killing her, her feet were killing her, her contractions were happening more frequently, and she felt like a whale on legs. She knew little Arlan would be making his grand entrance any day now.

She and Beca felt like they were ready. They thought of everything. They set the speed dials in their cell phones... They called Anne and Susan to ask what to expect... They did a few WedMD searches to prepare for the worst case scenario (probably not their best decision)... They even packed overnight bags and set them in Chloe's trunk so they wouldn't waste time packing when the time came. They were prepared.

At least, they THOUGHT they were.

Chloe was in the last place she thought she'd be when it happened.

Her students were all busy with their final projects before the summer break: fingerpainting. A little girl raised her hand and Chloe rushed to her side, assuming she needed more help. As the teacher waddled closer to the girl, she bent over and waited for the girl to speak, but she didn't say anything. She only giggled glancing down at Chloe's oversized belly.

"What's going on, Susie?" Chloe asked, smiling confusedly at the giggling child.

The little girl shook her head and waved for Chloe to come closer. Chloe leaned in as the little girl cupped her ear and whispered through a giggle. "I think you had an accident."

Chloe looked at the girl and frowned slightly as she waited for an explanation. "An accident?"

"Yep," The little girl nodded, looking around the class to make sure none of her fellow students were looking when she pointed at Mrs. Beale's feet. "Like, a pee pee accident."

Chloe's eyes widened as she looked to her feet and noticed the growing puddle beneath her skirt.

Her first thought was that she really DID have a "pee pee accident", since little Arlan's head had been pushing on her bladder and sending her to the restroom nonstop. She was peeing A LOT, so that wouldn't have surprised her.

Chloe scurried out of the class and across the hall to ask the teacher next door to keep an eye on her class for a moment while she ran to the restroom again.

The plan was to pee and clean up, but before she could make it, she experienced one of the strongest contractions of her entire pregnancy.

Then another.

Her eyes widened even more as she realized what was happening.

She read about this. The frequent contractions...the discomfort...the water-dropping...

She was going into labor!

Whipping out her cell phone, Chloe dialed Beca's number and detoured for Aubrey's classroom. Waddling at full speed, Chloe raised the phone to her ear and prayed that Beca's phone wasn't dead for once.

As Chloe popped her head into the music room, Aubrey waved for the children to continue practicing solfege as she stepped out into the hall to speak with Chloe.

"He's coming!" Chloe hissed, waving her hands frantically.

Aubrey frowned for a second before she realized who HE was and what Chloe meant by COMING. In seconds she was panicking just as much, if not more than her redheaded friend.

"Ohhhhmygoddddd...what do we do? What should I do?" Aubrey rambled.

Chloe opened her mouth to respond, but stopped when she heard Beca's voice on the phone.

"Babe?" Beca answered surprised by the call. "What's going on? Is everything okay?"

Well, this was certainly new. Chloe wouldn't complain though. She'd just remember to thank her lucky stars later.

"It's happening!"

"Wait...what, now?"

"Baby!" Chloe explained. "LABOR! THUNDERCATS ARE GO!"

"LABOR?" Beca squeaked into the phone. There was fumbling and a loud thud as Beca got her bearings. Chloe snickered, knowing Beca probably dropped the phone. "I mean...I'm- I'm on my way..."

Aubrey snapped her fingers as an idea came to her. She mouthed to Chloe that she would be right back, before turning on her heel and jogging down the hall.

There was more fumbling on Beca's end, followed by a door slam and Beca telling someone she was leaving them in charge.

"Awesome!" The lucky winner exclaimed. Chloe could hear that it was Jesse.

"Just don't burn the building down, yeah?" Beca said before turning her attention back to the phone call. "Are you and Bree at the hospital?"

Chloe grimaced as she felt another contraction. This one was slightly stronger than the last. She started towards the office behind Aubrey, figuring she could meet her on the way back.

"Not yet, but we'll be leaving soon. You can meet us there."

"Roger that. Tell little Arlo to wait for me, okay?" Beca chuckled nervously, starting her truck and pulling out of the parking lot to start towards the hospital.

"I'll try," Chloe laughed, groaning a little as another contraction came. "He seems to be a little impatient, though."

"I wonder which mom he gets that from," Beca teased, trying her best to keep her wife distracted. She could hear the pain in her voice. She could hear it in the little gasp every so often as the teacher tried to power through the pain.

"I'll let you go, so you can focus on the road. I know you like to forget that you're driving a pickup truck instead of a bulldozer sometimes."

"My driving is just fine, thank you." Beca snorted, honking for the cars in front of her to take off. "It's a green light. Jesus CHRIST..."

"Right," Chloe laughed, almost forgetting about the pain before she was so rudely reminded. She stopped and braced against the wall as she saw Aubrey running back towards her.

"Stay on the phone with me? At least until you get there?" Beca asked, hearing her wife's muffled grunt and the sniffle that followed.

"Okay," Chloe agreed, clutching her stomach as she felt a tear roll down her cheek.

"Boss knows and they're getting subs now," Aubrey explained once she reached Chloe, panting and throwing an arm around the redhead's middle to support her as they rushed through the front doors of the school and started towards Chloe's car.

* * *

After quite the battle with traffic, Beca rushed into the ER and saw her parents-in-law chatting with a nurse as she made notes on a clipboard.

"Hey, little mama!" Susan waved the brunette over, grinning as she saw the state she was in. She looked like a wild woman. Her hair was disheveled and her button-up was stained with sweat. Susan just shook her head and decided not to ask. (They would later learn that Beca gave up on driving through Atlanta's "lunch break traffic". She parked at a gas station a mile a way and ended up running the rest of the way to the hospital.)

"Let's get you suited up," The nurse chuckled, leading Beca down the hall to get suited up into some scrubs before entering the Delivery Room.

Seven hours later, Arlan Mitchell-Beale was introduced to the world.

6 and half pounds of love.

Beca and Chloe only got to hold him for a moment, but it was long enough for them to fall in love with the little fellow. He was theirs and they couldn't wait to give him the world. They swooned together over his little fingers and toes and the little brown hairs on his head...his little everything.

* * *

THREE DAYS LATER-

Beca and Chloe were snuggled on the bed of an in-patient room as they watched Arlo drift to sleep on Chloe's chest. Beca scooted closer to rest her head on Chloe's shoulder, smiling as she watched tiny eyelids droop lower and lower over crystal blue eyes.

After spending the past two days with little Arlan, Beca and Chloe were starting to get used to their new responsibilities. It was all still so new and it felt surreal at times, but they were slowly getting the hang of it.

Keep baby clean. Keep baby fed. Keep baby happy.

It sounded easy enough, right? They could totally do this.

So far the hardest part had been "keeping baby clean". Diaper changes were always a battle between mommy's hands and Arlan's busy feet. Chloe found it most amusing when Arlan's feet won and Beca ended up getting sprayed.

Beca was less amused.

There was a knock on the door just as Arlan had fallen asleep. Beca hopped up, rushing to the door to open it before whoever it was knocked again and woke Arlan back up. As much as she loved the little guy, she needed a breather. Just ONE hour. Maybe two.

There was a chorus of greetings as the door swung open and Jesse, Aubrey, Anne, and Susan stepped into the room.

"Hey, guys." Beca greeted, raising a finger to her lips and pointed towards the bed where Chloe laid, rubbing Arlan's back as he slept on her chest.

Everyone was just getting settled when the door creaked open again. Assuming it was the nurse that had been in and out to check on them all day, Beca ignored it. It wasn't until all the chatter stopped and the room got completely quiet that Beca realized something was off. Everyone turned to face the older man as he nervously approached the brunette, a shopping bag in hand. Beca stopped, feeling the tension in the room.

She followed their gazes, turning around to see what they were looking at so uncomfortably.

Then she realized. The moment she turned around, she found herself face to face with the man who walked out on her and her mother ten years ago.

Once she'd gotten over the initial shock of how different he looked...how much older and grayer he was...how much thinner his hair was...

The realization of how much she missed him...

She remembered how much it actually hurt to see him.

"What are you doing here?" Beca asked, her voice low as she tried her best not to wake Arlan. She looked to her mother in confusion, but her mother looked more guilty than anything else. She told him. She had to.

Why else would he be here? NOW of all times?

"Beca, look...," Warren started, his eyes shined with a fond sadness and his face was drawn. "I know you probably don't want to see me right now, but I just wanted to apologize...for...'before'."

Chloe looked up from the bundle of joy on her chest to see the interaction between her wife and her father. She couldn't help but worry. It had been over 10 years and they didn't end things on the best terms. Seeing her wife's jaw tighten, Chloe stood, cradling Arlan to her chest as she moved to set him down in the basinet by the bed. She moved around the bed to approach the two stubborn Mitchells, knowing this could end badly.

"Yeah...'sorry for abandoning you during a vulnerable time in your life and not even caring to call or write you,'...Now it's all okay, right?"

"Honey," Chloe scolded, taking the brunette's hand as she reached her side. "Just hear him out."

Warren nodded to the redhead, thanking her before he continued. "I've always cared, Beca. I haven't always been the best about showing it, but I've always loved you and I have ALWAYS cared about you. I've kept up with you, over the years. I'd call Anne occasionally and ask. I was even good friends with your old Commander for a while before we fell out. He kept me updated... I ALWAYS knew when you deployed. And I made sure I was at the airport everytime you set foot on American soil again. I knew you were okay. Better than you've ever been..." He added with a teary smile.

Beca blinked, unable to respond. She watched as her father wiped a tear and offered her the bag in his hand.

What was he saying? Was he actually saying he was proud of her?

"I'll see myself out. I know how exciting it is to have a newborn. You won't want to miss a thing. He'll be grown up before you know it..." With that, Warren turned to leave.

Beca glanced down at the bag and realized it was a bag of baby essentials... brand new bottles, a pack of diapers, a pacifier and a little plush dinosaur...

Chloe squeezed Beca's hand. "Stop him, Beca."

Beca met her wife's gaze. "He was the one who walked out on me. I can't just let him walk back in-"

"You can't just let him walk back out." Chloe challenged, quirking an eyebrow at Beca's silence. She knew she was right and she knew that Beca knew she was right. Beca missed her father and he missed her, but they were one in the same. Too much alike in some ways. Never willing to be the one to back down or admit defeat...

"Dad," Beca called out as he reached for the door knob. He stopped, surprised to be called that again. "I'd like you to stay...you know, if...if you want to."

He turned to face her, seeming to catch the double meaning. He smiled tearily. "I'll stay as long as you want."

"Well, alright." Beca nodded, too choked up with emotion to say more.

Chloe, sensing wife's fragile state, cleared her throat. "Would you like to see your grandson?"

Anne smiled, winking at Chloe.

Conversations resumed as the air got lighter in the room.

* * *

TWO YEARS LATER-

The Mitchell-Beale's were celebrating Arlan's second birthday with a party in their backyard. It turned out to be a full hous. Cap showed up, Stacie from high school (who joked that she always knew Chloe and Beca would end up making babies), Benji, Jesse, Aubrey, Anne, Susan, some kids from Arlan's daycare, and Warren.

Warren thought it would be a good idea to buy Arlan a mini playgrounf for his birthday, and roped his daughter into setting it up with him. He chuckled as his daughter fumbled over a ladder rung for the slide, "You mean to tell me you can assemble and dissemble a computer and tell me what every part is but you can't read an instruction manual for a plastic playground?" He teased.

"Hey, now. That's easy for you too say. Swings are pretty self explanatory," She defended, playfully swatting the allen wrench from Warren's hand, making one end of the swing fall.

Warren shook his head as his daughter snickered at his expense. "Man, you're a little bully. Aren't you?"

Hearing Beca's laughter, Chloe looked away from her game of tag with Arlan and his friends. She smiled as she saw Beca and Warren laughing as they alternated between trying to put the set together and trying to mess up the other. She was glad to see them happy in each other's company. It had been almost 15 years since she last saw them this happy.

"You it!" Arlan tagged his mother's thigh than toddled off with the rest of his friends, running around the backyard as Chloe took off after them.

"Oh, no! Arlo? I thought we had a deal?" Chloe whined playfully, causing her son to giggle mischievously.

Later that day, the sun was setting and the playset was up. All the guests had been long gone. But Beca and Chloe allowed the birthday boy to play for a little while longer before they went inside to wash him up, feed him, and put him to bed.

Sitting on the steps to the back porch, they watched their little boy climb up the ladder and come down the slide, giggling as he took of running towards them. His wavy brown hair flopping over his ears and his bright blue eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Mama! Mommy! Play?" Arlan asked, tugging on their hands.

"Aw, baby...I wish I could, but Mama's not going to fit," Chloe explained, a playful pout on her lips. "Play for a little bit longer, then we can go in and eat some dinner and get some more cake, okay?"

"'Kay!" And with that, little Arlo took off for the playground again.

Beca smiled, throwing an arm over Chloe's shoulder and pulling her close.

"What are you thinking?" Chloe asked softly, seeing the smirk on her wife's face.

"That this parenting business is even better than I dreamed it would be."


End file.
